A third body has been discovered amid the debris in the burnt-out country mansion belonging to millionaire Christopher Foster.

Third body found in rubble may be daughter Kirstie

Jill Foster's body identified - and she was shot in the head

.22 rifle owned by husband Christopher was found nearby

Second body found near her is unidentified man

Police today confirmed that further 'human remains' had been found in the 'main' part of the house.

The body is believed to be that of 15-year-old Kirstie Foster.

The discovery was made as police revealed that Mr Foster's wife Jillian had been shot in the head before the family home was burnt down.

Police say Jill Foster (left) was shot in the head before the mansion burnt down. Will her daughter Kirstie, 15, be identified as the third victim found at the house?

The body of 49-year-old Mrs Foster was one of two found close together in the ruins of Osbaston House in Shropshire.

The man found beside her is believed to be her husband Christopher, 50. A rifle owned legally by Mr Foster was nearby.

An aerial view of part of Osbaston House show three covered areas, believed to be where the bodies have been found

An aerial view of part of Osbaston House show three covered areas, believed to be where the bodies have been found

bodies

bodies

Although a post mortem found Mrs Foster had been killed by a gunshot, examinations have failed to establish a cause of death for the other body.

Detectives suspect Mr Foster 'flipped' and shot his wife and daughter - and their pet dogs and horses - before setting fire to the £1.2million mansion and then killing himself.

Detective Superintendent Jon Groves said today that the removal of the latest victim would 'take some time'.

He said: "The body is at the scene. We had the remains confirmed as human last night by a Home Office pathologist and work is now going on to extract the body.

"We are hoping to get it out by the end of the day."

Mr Foster had debts of almost £2million and is understood to have been angry about being forbidden to sell his house without permission from the authorities handling the liquidation of his company.

Megan Bray, a friend of Kirstie Foster leaves a bouquet of flowers at Osbaston House

Megan Bray, a friend of Kirstie Foster leaves a bouquet of flowers at Osbaston House

Bailiffs are believed to have arrived at the property, in the village of Maesbrook, just a few hours after it was set alight early last Tuesday.

It is not known whether Mr Foster had been aware of the visit, but one seat of the blaze was the block which contained his luxury cars, a likely target for anyone seizing assets, as well as the family's three horses.

There have been suggestions that the family could have been targeted for attack as a result of Mr Foster's business dealings.

It is possible an enemy could have killed them and tried to make it look like a murder-suicide.

There was even a report that a gang had planned to kidnap Kirstie and hold her to ransom.

Police said Mrs Foster's body had been identified from dental records.

Superintendent Gary Higgins said further tests were needed before it could be established whether the .22 rifle found at the scene was the murder weapon.

Missing: Kirstie Foster, 15, is still unaccounted for

Missing: Kirstie Foster, 15, is still unaccounted for

He said: 'We are certain that one of the bodies is that of Jill Foster.

'The post mortem examination showed that she died from a gunhouse-shot wound to the head. Further tests are needed to try to establish a cause of death for the other body.

'The two bodies were found close to one another and the body of a dog was found nearby. The dog had been shot.

'Three horses and three dogs found in the outhouses had also been shot.'

West Mercia Police said the case had become a murder inquiry after the post mortem on Mrs Foster.

Murdered: Jill Foster was shot in the head before the fire, while Christopher Foster was known to have owned a rifle

Officially, however, Mr Foster and Kirstie remain missing persons.

The family were last seen at a Bank Holiday Monday barbecue at a friend's home.

Kirstie is believed to have been talking to friends via an internet site until 1am, three hours before the fire took hold. Police are examining her charred computer.

Mr Foster is understood to have run up debts of up to £1.8million after his business went into administration. It has also emerged he had been chased by the taxman for a decade.

His company Ulva had made vast profits from developing insulation technology for oil rigs, but went into liquidation late last year.

Gutted: The mansion and, inset top to bottom, its sun room, lounge and kitchen

Gutted: The mansion and, inset top to bottom, its sun room, lounge and kitchen

As well as his business collapsing, he had been forbidden to sell the house without the permission of the liquidator, meaning he could not cash in any increase in its value or raise a loan against it.

Terence Baines, a former director of Ulva, said he feared Mr Foster had 'just flipped - the pressure of it was too much for him'.

Mr Baines, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, said: 'The people he owed money to are big companies and I can't see them behind something like this.'

A former business associate of Mr Foster claimed yesterday that he had been offered £50,000 by a third party to kill him.

Leo Dennis, 42, a former hotel security manager and bouncer, also claimed that the businessman had approached him to act as a bodyguard.

He said: 'Mr Foster wanted me to be his bodyguard. But at the same time I was approached by another businessman who wanted him killed and offered me £50,000 to do it.'

A .22 rifle like the one Christopher Foster owned

A .22 rifle like the one Christopher Foster owned

Mr Dennis, who was spoken to by police after the blaze but not arrested, was charged in 2006 with demanding £100,000 from Mr Foster. The case arose from allegations about a failed land deal in Cyprus. Mr Dennis was later cleared.

The police operation at the house was hampered again at the weekend by safety concerns over entering the building.

Falling debris had stopped forensic investigators from examining the house for over 72 hours after the blaze.

Officers have said it could be ' several weeks' before the search is completed.

Service: The congregation at St John's church in Maesbrook said prayers for the Foster family

Service: The congregation at St John's church in Maesbrook said prayers for the Foster family

Prayers were said for the family at St John's church in Maesbrook.

The Reverend Prebendary David Austerberry said: 'The events in our village this week have bewildered and stunned every one of us, not only in this community but across the country.

'It's idyllic Shropshire. It doesn't happen here - but it has.

'The Fosters were not very well known in the community but nevertheless it's a tremendous shock.'